K-181

Big Marrowbone or Vianna Near Chesterville 4th quarter 18th Century, 1st quarter 19th Century

John Woodall, Sr. bequeathed his home plantation to his son William

in 1800, provided that he allow his mother to have the use of one room.1

The home plantation consisted of parts of Vianna, Stepney and Stepney

Fields. In the 1822 Tax Assessment it appears that William owned 218 acres

ofVianna and 124 acres of the other two tracts combined. Both of the

Woodalls were farmers.

The earliest part of the existing house was standing in the late 18th

Century and may have been constructed by John Woodall, Sr. It consisted of

a frame, three bay, gambrel roof structure which had been built over a full

basement. There was an attached one story kitchen wing on the west gable.

Both north and south facades were identical, with two windows flanking a

central door on the first story and two dormers in the roof above. A brick

chimney had been built within the west gable. The kitchen possessed a door

and \\indow with no dormers and a brick chimney within its west wall.

All of the corner posts and plates of the gambrel roof section

mentioned above were exposed in the single room. In its northwest corner

there was an enclosed stair adjacent the fireplace which led to the two

chambers above-one with fireplace. In its earliest stage, the kitchen

framing was unplastered and whitewashed and its floor level was several

steps lower than the upper part.

During the occupancy of William Woodall, an east extension was

added continuing the line of the cornice and gambrel roof. Its facade had a

door on the west and window on the east with two dormers above. In the

east gable there was another chimney stack. The foundation of this section

was built without basement and butted up to the older part of the house.

~-1 i1

In its original form, the doors led to a corridor from front to back, off

of which there was a parlor on the east and the old room on the west.

Instead of installing a stair in the central hall, as would be expected for this

period, a second enclosed stair was built in the northeast corner of the new

room which led to a corridor and two chambers. An attempt at more privacy

over the old section.

William Woodall died in 1845 and left the farm to his son Jesse.2 His

neighbor, Hezekiah Masten, who lived north of New Market on another

part ofVianna, was a witness to his will. After Jesse took over the farm he

bought additional acreage, extending the boundaries from the Chestertown­

Millington Road on the south to the Chesterville-Millington Road on the

north. Jesse Woodall appears on the 1860 map.

Soon after the map was printed, Jesse died and the farm descended

to his daughters, Sara and Mary. Mary bought Sara's share in 18653 and

apparently later married a Pennington, for "Mrs. Pennington" appears on

the 1877 Atlas. Mary Woodall Pennington's only heir was Sarah V. Moffett,

who in turn had three heirs. Jesse Moffett bought the other two thirds in

19234 and the farm has remained in his family ever since.

The name "Big Marrowbone" is probably derived from the fact that

Pearly Moffett, Sarah's husband, owned Marrowbone the farm adjoining to

the south. They used "big" and "little" to differentiate between the two

farms, until Marrowbone was sold in the 1950's. This farm is one of about a

half dozen that has remained in the same family for over 200 years in Kent

County.

1. Wills, Lib. 8, fol. 120.

2. Wills, Lib. JFB 1, fol. 292.

3. Land Records, Lib. JKH 4, fol. 675.

4. Land Records, Lib. RRA 2, fol. 511.

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J.

K-181 Btg Marrowbone (Big Marylebone) Near Chestervi 1 le

Private

1700-1799; 1800-1899

Btg Marrowbone, the name possibly a corruption of Marylebone, Is on the

east side of Route 290, the early "great road" from Georgetown Crossroads

(Galena) through Chestervi lie (earlier New Market) to Henry Call ister's

import-export business at what is now Crumpton on the Chester River. It is

at the head of what was once a small creek f lowtng south Into the Chester River but is now insignificant. The house is frame and three-part. The

western sect ion is a l-112 storey kltchcn wing that has had three different floor levels. In the center is a three-bay-wide gambrel-roofed section with

door in the center on both front and rear. Probably dating from the eighteenth

century, it may be older than the kitchen wfng and been raised from a 1-1/2

storey bui I ding with gable roof. To the cast is a two-bay extension of the gambrel form It appears to date from the nineteenth century. There are

three chimneys very much altered as 1t was lived mover several centuries, the house at Big Marrowbone is significant for being an early buflding of

modest proportions 1n its particular location. It also may be an example of a dweliing that began as a I or 1-1/2 storey building with gable roof but had the

roof altered, or raised, to a gambrel in order to gatn more space as the

occupying famfly prospered or needs changed. There are very few early

gambrel-roofed houses in the county. Some that are known to have existed

are gone, such as K-210 that stood on the east side of the road to Browntown

from Morgnec Road, north of the standing K-209, the c. 011n Powell House. There is a now gambrel-roofed house near Massey, K-163, White House Farm,

whfch appears to have been raised and added to during the late eighteenth or

early nineteenth century, creating a central-hall plan house with the addition

of a ha11 and room next to the original section. This appears to have been the case here as well, though the interior was not seen.

• "

Survey No. K-181

Maryland Historical Trust Magi No. /')-0 I JI t 5 /o4f

State Historic Sites Inventory Form DOE ~yes no

1. Name (indicate preferred name)

historic Big Marrowbone

and/or common

2. Location

street & number East side Rt. 290, . 5 mile south of Chestervj 11 e __ not for publication

city, town Chesterville

state Maryland

3. Classification Category __ district _x_ building(s) __ structure __ site

_object

Ownership ._public _JL private _both Public Acquisition ·- in process _ being considered

_ __K_not applicable

4- vicinity of

county

Status --X- occupied _ unoccupied __ work in progress Accessible __ yes: restricted _yes: unrestricted __x_ no

congressional district First

Kent

Present Use __ agriculture _ commercial __ educational _ entertainment __ government __ industrial _military

__ museum __ park _x__ private residence __ religious __ scientific __ transportation __ other:

4. Owner of Property (give names and mailing addresses of ~ owners)

name Mrs. Jesse Moffett

street & number 107 High Street telephone no.: 778-4305

city, town Chestertown state and zip code Maryland 21620

5. Location of Legal Description

courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Court House liber WHG 21

street & number Cross Street folio 109

city, town Chestertown state Mary land

6. Representation in Existing Historica.1 surveys

title Maryland Historical Site Inventory - HABS Inventory

date May 1970 --X- federal --X- state __ county __ local

aepository for survey records Maryland Historical Trust, 21 State Circle

city, town Annapolis state Maryland

7. Description

Condition __ excellent _x_ good __ fair

__ deteriorated __ ruins __ unexposed

Check one __ unaltered _x_ altered

Survey No. K-181

Check one __X_ original site __ moved date of move

Prepare both a summary paragraph and a general description of the resource and its various elements as it exists today.

Big Marrowbone, the name possibly a corruption of Marylebone, is on the east side of Route 290, the early "great road" from Georgetown Crossroads (Galena) through Chesterville (earlier New Market) to Henry Callister's import-export business at what is now Crumpton on the Chester River. It is at the head of what was once a small creek flowing south into the Chester River but is now insignificant. The house is frame and three-part. The western section is a 1-1/2 story kitchen wing. In the center is a three-bay-wide gambrel-roof ed section with door in the center on both front and rear. It may be older than the kitchen wing and been raised from a 1-1/2 story building with gable roof. To the east is a two-bay extension of the gambrel form. It appears to date from the nineteenth century. There are three chimneys.

(Continued)

8. Signi1ficance Survey No. K-181

Period __ prehistoric

- 1400-1499 - 1500-1599

_ 1600-1699 __x_ 1700-1799 _ 1800-1899 _ 1900-

Specific dates

J11reas of Significance-Check and justify below __ archeology-prehistoric __ community planning __ landscape architecture __ religion __ archeology-historic __ conservation __ law __ science __ agriculture __ economics __ literature __ sculpture _ _X architecture __ education __ military __ social/ __ art __ engineering __ music humanitarian __ commerce __ exploration/settlement __ philosophy __ theater __ communications __ industry __ politics/government __ transportation

__ invention __ other (specify)

Builder/ Architect

check: Applicable Criteria: and/or

A B c D

Applicable Exception: A B c D E F G

Level of Significance: national state local

Prepare both a summary paragraph of significance and a general statement of history and support.

Very much altered as it was lived in over several centuries, the house at Big Marrowbone is significant for being an early building of modest proportions in its particular location. It also may be an example of a dwelling that began as a 1 or 1-1/2 story building with gable roof but had the roof altered, or raised, to a grambrel in order to gain more space as the occupying family prospered or needs changed. There are very few early gambrel-roofed houses in the county. Some that are known to have existed are gone, such as K-210 that stood on the east side of the road to Browntown from Morgnec Road, north of the standing K-209, the C. Olin Powell House. There is a now gambrel-roofed house near Massey, K-163, White House Farm, which appears to have been raised and added to during the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, creating with the addition of a hall and room next to the orginal section a central-hall plan house. This appears to have been the case here as well, though the interior was not seen.

This farm has long been in the same family. Big Marrowbone was related in some way to a farm known as Little Marrowbone (K-179), located between the Chester River and the River Road, which lies to the south of Big Marrowbone. The old house at Little Marrowbone has been demolished. In 1860 Jesse Woodall was shown on the Martenet map of Kent County as the owner of this farm (an ancestor of the husband of the present owner). By 1877, the year of the Lake, Griffing and Stevenson atlas, a Mrs. Pennington is shown there. She may have been a Woodall daughter. The team-haul community for this farm would have been the nearby crossroads village of Chesterville (called New Market before about 1848), where there were stores, a school, churches, and a hotel. Chesterville prospered during the eighteenth and at least part of the nineteenth century but declined in the twentieth. Most of the old buildings are gone, victims of highway department enlarging of the intersection.

9. Major Bibliographical References Survey No. K-181

1 O. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property _________ _

Quadrangle name Quadrangle scale _______ _

UTM References do NOT complete UTM references

ALJ.J I I I I I I I I I I 8 W I I 1 I I I I I I Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

c u.J .__I _ __...... __ I I I D LJJ .__I ..__I .....___ ____ I .._I ............... __.__ ____

E Li_J ,__I ---­

G LLl ...... I _ __...... __ LL.~! ___ _

I I I Verbal boundary description and justification

FLU I I H LLJ I I

List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries

state code county

state code county

11. Form Prepared By

name/title Margaret Q. Fallaw, Survey Consultant

County Commissioners of Kent County organization Historical Socieqr of Kent Co1mq1

Court House street & number Church Alley

city or town Chestertown

date May 10, 1985

778-4600 telephone 77 8_ 3 4 9 9

state Maryland

code

code

The Maryland Historic Sites Inventory was officially created by an Act of the Maryland Legislature to be found in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 41, Section 181 KA, 1974 supplement.

The survey and inventory are being prepared for information and record purposes only and do not constitute any infringement of individual property rights.

return to: Maryland Historical Trust Shaw House 21 State Circle Annapolis, Maryland 21401 (301) 269-2438

PS-2746

Continuation Page 7.1 K-181

1he house at Big Marrowbone has been so altered on the exterior that it is difficult to tell much about it, though the cellar is somewhat revelatory. ·1 he exterior walls are covered with aSbestos shingles applied over horizontal, lapped weatherboard. While there is one small area where the shingles are absent, it is not large enough to discern the nature of the weatherboard beneath, whether tapered or beaded, for instance. All sections are covered with the shingles.

The central, gambel-roofed section is three bays wide on front and rear facades. Windows that are double-hung and have 6-over-6 liqhts are in each side bay. In the roof are two shed dormers with the shed roof proceeding, as usual , from the place where the roof pitch was changed. The dormers are placed slightly inward from the side bays below, which are evenly spaced on either side of the central entry.

The middle, gambrel-roofed section is the only part of the house with a cellar, and it has been considerably reworked and repaired. Bricks remain as the foundation wall on three sides, but on the north side half of the wall's heigM has been removed and replaced with concrete blocks. Apparently the source of the problem here was persistent, excessive moisture. The first-storey joists seen from the cellar are hand-sawn (probably pit-sawn) and are about 8-1/2" x 2-3/ 4". They are on about 23-24" centers. A summer beam with jack support has recentry been added. Floorboards of the first storey seen overhead are about 6-9' random width. The west end chimney base is considerably altered, partly removed and with additions. It now serves as the f Jue for a modern furnace. The arch is gone, though the pilasters remain, with their ledges for centering for construe tr on and/or shelving. The arch may have been segmental. Ttie opening is about 55" wide.

There is a small opening through which one can see part of the crawl space of the kitchen wing, wnere tliere have been numerous alterations. 1 here were two floors that were lower than the present floor, which was raised tn the middle twentieth-century to omit the step(s) between the kitchen wing and the adjoining section. However, beneath the last floor, whlch was simply covered over, there are indications of a still-lower former floor, evidently quite early. Remaining parts are hewn. The lower ends of the posts and studs can be seen. l hey are whitewashed, indicating that the room initially was used with unfinished walls--simply frame ana outer coverinq. When the floor was raised the first time, at least the front wall was extencfed outward by at least 10". It was not clear whether or not this is an independent section of the house and thus possibly pre-dating the early gambrel section. The crawl space under the kitchen 1s very shallow. Several fieldstones can be seen in the vicinity of the center of tne joist span, also numerous loose bricks. lhe chimney base cannot be seen; dirl and rubble appears to be piled there. There has been some repair to th~ brick foundation under the kitchen, with concrete blocks. Since the kitchen floor was last raised (evidently with accompanying raising of the ceiling as well), the loft above is said to be virtually unusable for lack of head room. .

The two· bay east gambrel addition appears to date from the nineteenth century. Joists are 3" x 9" and appear to nave marks from an up-and-down

(continued)

Continuation Page 7.2 K-181

saw. The sills are hewn. The headers around the chimney base are mortise-and-tenoned and pegged, with the edges of the tenon carefully chamfered. There is now an aaded summer beam. evidently added when the foundation was rebuilt The foundation of this area, around a crawl space, is now mostly bunt of block. It is three-sided, the fourth side of the foundation being the cellar foundation wal1 of the adjacent older gambreI-roofed section.

There are three chimneys. The east chimney, at the east end of the added gambrel-roofed section is within the wall. It is large and built of brick, with a metal stovepipe protruding. It may be rebuilt. There is now no cap nor any other decorative element. A chimney is also at the west end of the older gambre1-roofed section, within the wall. Its base fs the altered one seen in fhe cellar. It is built of brick but has a wooden "cap." It appears at least patially rebu11t. The third chimney ls small and In the west end of the kitchen wing. It is not likely that it now serves a fireplace. It is of a size intended for use with a stove. Given the evidence in the cellar, it is likely to be a replacement chimney. It is parged and has a two-course cap.

There are three entries into the north, mam-approach side. All have modern doors apd trim removed or covered when the siding was done. The windowsills of the old gambrel section are very thin and are replacements. The old ones are said to nave been heavy and pegged. Some of the windows have trim backband of ovolo with fillets which may or may not be old. Shutters are not now in the rear, where hinge mortises appear to be in the tr1m.

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N 3915-W7552.5/7.5 PHOTOINSPECTEO 1974

1953

K- 181 Big Marrowbone Rt . 290 , near Chesterville M. Q. Fallaw - 5/10/85 View to southwest

K-181 Big Marrowbone Rt. 290, near Chesterville M. Q. Fallaw - 5/10/85 View to south

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1. STATE

COUNTY

TOWN C,J,, <.> +...,,.,,1l ~ VIC INI TY

STREET NO. ~ \- 2. 't 0 • i ...... U. N°-~h i i,,..,~_.us •. ~ • .,,.::t.... ti.\- 2.'l I

OR IGIN AL OW NER

OR IGI NAL use dw .JL~ PRESEN T OWN ER ~'-~cz. \,v. V\lloHt.1+ PRESENT USE c.L,..~ WALL CONSTRUCTION if'~ NO. OF STOR IES I \.::i,_

HISTOR IC AMER ICAN BU ILDINGS SU RV EY

2. NAME

OA TE OR PERIOD

STYLE

ARCHITECT

BUILDER

1NVE NT0RY r, _ / a /

3. FO R LIBRARY OF CONGRESS USE

4, NOTABLE FEATURES, HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND DESCRIPTION OPEN TO PUBLIC ~O

Hollett House is a long gambrel-roof frame structure with a

kitchen wing (one story) on its west gable.

There seems to be at least two periods of building: the oldest

appearing to be the three symmetrical bays inthe center (between

the kitchen and the other three assymmetrical bays) • The entire

structure rests on a brick foundation, partly replaced by concrete

block. The sides are sheathed with white asbestos and the roof

with green asphalt composition shingles. The trim is painted

green to match the roof. Windows have mostly 2/ 2 sash some 6/6.

A brick chimney is located at each end of the gambrel roof and

one small chimney on the west side of the kitchen. A smallframe

shed (milk house or smoke house?) is located to the south of the

kitchen and is connected therewith by a roof-

It is well maintained from a useful point of view-

S. PHYSICAL CONDITION OF HPUCTUl1E fndongered NO

~ 6. LOCATION MAP (Pion Oprionol)

:l . PUElLISHED SOURCES (Aurhor, Titl e, Po9u)

INTERVIEWS, RECORDS, PHOTOS, ~TC.

In te rior Exterior ft ooJ

7 . PHOTOGRAPH

9. NAME, ADDRESS ANO TITL E OF RECORDER

DA TE OF RECORD N\ <lJ.A \ .,. i ~ ·>